Jonker JS-3 Rapture

The Jonker JS-3 Rapture is a glider built of glass-fibre, carbon fibre and Kevlar. It has full-span flaps and can be operated with a wingspan of either 15 m or 18 m.

The manufacturer is Jonker Sailplanes of Potchefstroom South Africa, founded in 2004 by two brothers, Attie and Uys Jonker. The structural and chief designer is Attie Jonker, while the airfoil and main aerodynamic features were developed by Johan Bosman in co-operation with the Delft University of Technology.

The first flight of the JS-3 was on 12 December 2016.

Design and development
Type certification of the JS-MD 3 was achieved with EASA on 18 July 2019.

The JS3 is equipped with Tost nose and centre of gravity release hooks, retractable main undercarriage leg with elastomeric shock absorbers, and a fixed pneumatic 180 mm tail wheel with an aluminium hub. A retractable 150 mm tail wheel can be fitted in place of the fixed tailwheel. Provision is made to fit two 12V LiFePo 7Ah/10Ah main batteries with a fuse box in the luggage compartment's recessed battery boxes, accessible from cockpit. A goose-neck microphone is optional, as are two independent speakers for radio, with the antenna in the rudder and a navigation computer in the instrument panel. The prototype flew in the 2017 World Gliding Championships

Variants

 * JS-3 Rapture 15m:Version with 15 m wings
 * JS-3 Rapture 18m:Version with 18 m wings